Deep Creek Campground Map (click to view or download PDF)

See the Deep Creek Region web page for an interactive location map.

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CAMPING SEASON

Deep Creek Campground at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is typically open from May through the end of October. The exact opening and closing dates change each year, so be sure to visit the National Park Service’s Frontcountry Camping web page for the latest schedule.

The Group Campground at Deep Creek is also open seasonally, but operates on a different schedule. See the National Park Service’s Group Campgrounds web page for the latest schedule.

TYPE OF CAMPING

Deep Creek Campground can accommodate tent campers and RVs up to 26 feet long. It also has three group campsites.

NUMBER OF SITES

Deep Creek Campground has a total of 92 campsites. Forty-two are walk-in sites for tents only, meaning that you park your car in a common lot and carry your gear to the site as opposed to parking right next to your campsite. This area is divided into three sections, each with its own parking lot. Restrooms are situated between each section. Sites are marked with a numbered post, so it is not just a large field where you can pitch a tent anywhere you like. Distances from the parking area range from right near the pavement to maybe 100 yards away. Many of the tent-only sites are situated along Deep Creek.

Walk-in tent camping area at Deep Creek Campground

Fifty campsites are open to tent campers and RVs up to 26 feet long. Parking is done at your campsite, mainly in back-in parking spaces, but a few offer curbside parking. There are even some spaces that are short, depth-wise, but are double-wide so you can unhook your trailer and park your vehicle next to it.

Deep Creek has three group campsites (tents only) that can hold up to 20 people each. You need a minimum of seven people to camp at a group site.

AMENITIES

Deep Creek Campground is one of the more convenient in Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to its proximity to Bryson City, North Carolina. Just outside the park boundary are stores, cabin rentals, private campgrounds, and many other types of businesses. Bryson City itself, which is just a short drive away, is like a mini Gatlinburg. Also, this is the only campground in the park where I could get cell phone service, and I camped in all of them.

Like all campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are no showers at Deep Creek Campground, but there are private companies that offer fee-based shower facilities outside the park. Ask the campground host for directions to the closest one. There are, however, modern restrooms with cold water, and there is a dump station for RVs.

There are no electric or water hook-ups at any of the campsites. If you need 5-amp connections for medical devices, you must camp at Smokemont, Cades Cove, or Elkmont, the only campgrounds in the park with this amenity.

WALK-IN TENT SITES

All tent sites have level 13′ x 13′ tent pads on which to pitch your tent.  You can have as many tents as you can fit on the pad, though realistically that means two in most cases. Those with more tents than pad space must pay for a second campsite. A picnic table and a grill / fire ring are standard on all of the sites.

Walk-in tent site close the the parking area

RV AND TENT SITES

Like walk-in sites, these have level 13′ x 13′ tent pads, picnic tables, and grills / fire rings. The area is hilly, so in most cases you must walk either up- or downhill from your parking space to reach the tent area or picnic table. For those spending the entire time in an RV, this is irrelevant.

RV in a curbside parking site

Tent pad and table located slightly downhill from the parking area

GROUP CAMPGROUND

Group campsites have five 14′ x 14′ tent pads, which allows space for 5 large or 10 small tents, and at least 4 picnic tables, a grill, and a separate fire ring. One site is handicap accessible, and this site has 3 additional grills. Each site can accommodate up to 20 people and 4 vehicles.

RESERVATIONS

Reservations are required for all campsites at Deep Creek Campground and can be made up to six months in advance at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777. It is not possible to pay at the campground. If you show up without a reservation, you must leave and find a place with phone service and make one. There is no cell service at the campground.

Deep Creek Campground is not gated, so you can arrive after hours and register in the morning. If you forgot your site number, check the camp bulletin board, for each day Rangers post reservation information. Please note that I forgot my site number when camping at another of the campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the site information was not available as it should have been. I had to drive back to the nearest town where I could get a cell phone signal so I could log into Recreation.gov and find my number. Lesson learned—don’t forget your site number.

Group campsites must also be reserved. You can make a reservation up to a year in advance either online at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777.

FEES

The current individual campsite fee is $25/night. Owners of a Senior or Access pass receive a discount on individual campsites.

Group sites are $40/night.

Prices can always change. The most current rates are given on the Recreation.gov web pages.

CAMPGROUND RULES

• Check out time is noon. Check in is 1 PM.

• All food must be stored in food storage boxes (if provided) or in your vehicle.

• Stays within Great Smokey Mountains National Park are limited to 14 consecutive days at any one campground, and no more than 60 total camping days in a year. If you wish to camp more than 14 days at a particular campground, you must leave that campground for at least one day before returning. To do this, you can return home or simply switch to another campground for a day.

• Do not bring your own firewood to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Firewood is available for sale inside the park and surrounding towns, but not at Deep Creek Campground. You can also gather wood inside the park that is on the ground and dead.

• Pets are allowed as long as they stay on a leash no longer than six feet. However, no pets are allowed on the hiking trails, other than horses, and you cannot leave them unattended at your campsite.

• Alcohol is permitted in the campground as long as the people drinking are at least 21-years-old, which goes without saying.

• Quiet hours are in effect from 10 PM to 6 AM. Generators are allowed from 8 AM to 8 PM.

• Hammocks are allowed in the campground with the following guidelines: Must be over the footprint of the campsite, limited to trees 10 inches in diameter with adequate padding around the tree and only 2 hammocks are allowed to be suspended from the same tree.

For a complete list of regulations, see the National Park Service’s Campground Regulations web page for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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